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User blog:Carol of the bells/Days of Ruin (Revised): Chapter 3, part 1
It was uncomfortably warm. Zen could feel her weak breaths pushing against her face. It was a little hard to breath. It was also a little hard to move. Feeling slightly panicked, she opened her eyes. The sky appeared too white and too close. She reached up to feel that it was not the sky, rather a damp cloth lying across her face. She pulled it off and sat up, faster than she should have, she realized, as pain attacked her side. “Ah—What!?” She grunted, grasping her stomach. Suddenly, a wooden spoon rushed through the air and smacked her on the side of the head, quite hard. Zen’s head snapped to the side, more from surprise than the force of the blow. On the other end of the spoon stood a little old woman, whose left hand was planted firmly on her hip while the other brandished the spoon. Her white hair was tied up into a neat bun, and her eyes were so narrow they appeared to be shut. She shook the spoon at the summoner. “What do you think you’re doing, trying to get out of bed like that, hmm?!” She blinked, staring at woman who just assaulted her. “I…what…?” “I was up all night, keeping that wound of yours closed, and I’ll be a tootin’ slime if I let you open it up again.” She turned away to shuffle to the corner of the room and retrieve something. Zen looked down and saw that her abdomen was wrapped with a white bandage. It must have been fresh, because there were no stains of blood. She ran her fingers over the fabric as she began to recall the battle she had lost. The woman returned with a bowl in her hand and her trusty spoon in the other. “Eat.” She held the meal up to Zen’s face. The summoner quickly leaned away from the bowl. “I do not want—“ She was interrupted as the woman shoved the wooden spoon full of soup into her mouth. Zen almost choked once, twice as the broth fell down her throat. The old lady stepped back, a small, expectant smile on her wrinkled face appeared. “Well? Is it good?” Zen’s coughing died down as she finally managed to swallow and breathe. The pungent odor and bitter taste was far from pleasant, but the vision of an old lady shoving a spoon down her throat in anger kept her from speaking her mind. “…Y-yes…” Satisfied, she left the bowl on the dresser and returned to the corner of the room, where the pot of soup sat on a counter, to retrieve a smaller spoon for her guest. “Good to see that you’re getting’ your strength back. You’ve been asleepin’ for near ‘bout two days now.” “How did I get here?” “Some young soldier. Said that you’d been hurt bad, and he weren’t jokin’ either. You were pretty close to…well, you know. He dropped you off yesterday. I can go and get ‘im, if you want.” Zen stiffened. “He’s here?” The lady pointed her thumb behind her. “Yeah, in the next room. I’ll go bring him in.” She shuffled out the door. Moments later, the blue haired soldier walked in. He wore only the clothes beneath his armor. His leg was bandaged, where Zen had wounded him. He came in the room, and shut the door behind him. They stared at each other for a moment. Karl shifted awkwardly on his feet. “Glad to see you’re finally up. That woman can really bring ‘em back, huh?” He laughed sheepishly, recalling the awful-tasting, yet potent, stew that had been forced down his throat. “I was a little worried at first. I didn’t think that you’d—“ “Stop.” Zen interrupted. “Just…stop.” She gripped the blanket in her hands, trying to gather her thoughts. “I do not understand. Stopping me was your job. It was your duty to get rid of me. Even if you did not personally want to, you had every right to kill me.” She paused. “So why didn’t you?” He frowned. “You’re a stubborn one, aren’t you? Look, you don’t seem to understand that I don’t like killing people. My job was to find out who was tearing apart all those monster nests.” He chuckled. “The higher-ups don’t like it when an unknown power is on the loose. Anyway, I don’t think I would have killed you even if I was supposed to.” She had no reply. She could not comprehend how a man with as much power as he could show mercy. It was something she had never seen before. It was foreign to her, unnatural. “How did you get to be so strong?” Zen asked absently. Karl thought for a moment before shrugging. “The man who raised me taught me all I know. You’ll have to ask him.” He paused. “Is that what you’re looking for? A source of strength? I’m no teacher, but…if you want to get stronger, you should ask someone to help you.” She looked up. That was it? It was that simple? “By the way, I don’t know your name,” He said. She hesitated, trying to decide if she should tell him. Her sense of formality demanded that she should; she owed it to him, seeing that he spared her life. “My name is Zen Samui.” Recognition flashed across his face. “Samui?” She eyed him. “Do you know of us?” “Only rumors,” He admitted. “Your family keeps to themselves. If I may ask, what are you doing this far from Mt. Egor?” Her countenance faltered as she began to remember everything that happened in the past weeks. That was something she felt entitled to keep to herself. “You haven’t told me your name yet,” She quickly said, “That’s rude.” “Oh, sorry,” He smiled. “I’m—“ “Karl!” The strong, thundering voice of a woman cut through the walls as the door was suddenly barreled over. A brunette wearing armor as red as her face stomped in, grabbing Karl’s collar roughly and jerking him towards her. “What do you think you’re doing?” Shaken, mentally and physically, he sputtered over his words before he finally managed a startled, “S-Seria?!” “You,” She steamed, “I rush all the way down here just to save your sorry hide, and what do I find?!” She jabbed a finger at Zen, eyes still fixed on the speechless soldier inches from her face. “You, all buddy-buddy with the rogue that you were supposed to catch!” She paused. “No, wait, it was a recon mission. That’s right, a simple scouting expedition. And what did you do?!” “I—“ “Don’t speak, this is a rhetorical rant!” The old woman passed by in the hallway, only to see her door off of its hinges. She drew in a sharp gasp of surprise before her brow knitted in anger. She wielded her spoon and rushed towards Seria. “Scoundrel!” “Ow!” Seria received a sharp hit from the wooden utensil. Rubbing her head, she let go of Karl, who promptly dropped to the floor, and turned to the woman. “What’s the big idea?!” She shook the spoon at the swordswoman. “Unless you want another whopping, you’ll pay me for my door!” As the two argued, Karl discretely picked himself up and walked over to Zen. “I should probably take Seria and go, before she and the old woman raze the town to the ground.” He chuckled briefly. “Stay out of trouble, will you? The Hall may not send me to stop you next time. You’ve been given a second chance; don’t waste it.” Zen stared at him for a while, trying to comprehend. “How do you know I won’t do more damage?” He paused, thinking. “There are a lot of reasons why people fight. When I was fighting with you, I felt as if you were fighting out of anger, but...I think you’re just lonely. Find someone to travel with you. Once you start caring about someone, you won’t want to endanger anyone anymore.” Even with all the noise in the room, Zen felt that there wasn’t a single person there. It was like his words had suddenly opened up a window in her soul. She suddenly felt like she understood everything he was trying to tell her. Was it really that simple? Had the answer been in front of her all along? “Karl, we’re leaving,” Seria declared as she finished paying the old woman. “Let’s go. There’s only one horse, so you can walk.” “Wha—“ “Don’t argue! We’re going!” “A-alright then.” He turned and gave Zen a wave before the two exited the room, being careful to step over the knocked-down door. The old woman quickly followed them to make sure they didn’t break anything else. Zen was left in the room alone with the silence. Her hands curled around the blanket as she tried to get a grip on her thoughts. “…Selena?” She said, barely audible. “Yes?” The swordswoman replied quickly. She hesitated, another bout of silence circling the room. “N-nothing…never mind.” “Zen,” Selena continued, “It’s okay. We’re here for you.” She drew in a slow, shakey breath. “I know.” “…I’m sorry.” Category:Blog posts